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By Matt Kim
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Nintendo Files for a Nintendo 64 Trademark, is a Nintendo 64 Mini Coming?
It would be silly if a Nintendo 64 Mini wasn't in the cards.
News
by
Matt Kim,
07/20/2017.
Nintendo apparently filed for a trademark in Europe via the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Four applications were filed for a variety of video game console controllers, including one for the Nintendo 64's controller. The trademark has kicked off speculation that a Nintendo 64 mini is at least in the cards for Nintendo. Given the success of the NES and SNES Classic, this also feels like a no-brainer.
The trademarks were filed on July 18 of this year and were spotted by users on NeoGAF. The trademarks include applications for the N64 Controller, NES controller, SNES controller, and Nintendo Switch controller. They are all listed under the same goods and services which includes, among other things, "Telecommunication machines and apparatus", "Electronic Storage media recorded with programs for arcade video game machines", and "Parts and accessories for consumer video game apparatus; Controllers and joysticks for consumer video game apparatus".
The trademarked logo image for the Nintendo 64 controller is even similar to the NES Classic logo found atop the NES Classic box.
The trademark move is similar to one Nintendo filed for the SNES controller in December 2016. Months later, Nintendo announced the SNES Classic. While it's also possible that Nintendo is just covering its bases, at this point it's clear that Nintendo is having a great run with its line-up of mini consoles. A Nintendo 64 Mini is the next logical step, probably followed by a GameCube Mini, and leading all the way up to a...Nintendo Switch mini?
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Comments 13
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an N64 mini, though they're going to have to step up their hardware -- as SIGGYZtar said, even the Wii U can only handle a select few N64 games, and the 64 is notoriously finnicky to emulate at the end-user level with things like Glide wrappers involved.
Though I think that'll about be the end of it. Though GameCube emulation is possible, I don't think the hardware necessary to do so would represent a profitable margin for Nintendo -- Sure, the Switch is supposedly going to be able to do it to some degree, but the Wii U didn't support it in Wii mode, and I can't see them selling micro-Switches at a price that consumers will tolerate and still leave room for profit. At that point you might as well just get a Switch.
They would probably have a easier time filling out GameCube Classic with 20+ games.
Probably won't see any Rare games other than *groan* Donkey Kong 64, though. The N64's lacking 3rd party support in the day (even moreso on VC) and the whole Microsoft owning Rare thing are gonna hurt its appeal compared to the previous two units.
And while I know the upcoming SNES mini has games that were never on VC ( the Star Fox games and SNES Yoshi's Island), I doubt we'll be seeing Konami digging up its Controller Pak requiring lineup of varying quality or Capcom bringing its comprised PlayStation ports to this one.
The one thing I figure, though, is considering they put Star Fox 2 on the SNES mini, I would be shocked if Sin & Punishment wasn't included on an N64 mini. The game was already mostly in English to the point where many people were importing it back in the day because there was no meaningful language barrier.